Trip to the Library
by Writer to the Maximum
Summary: Ishimaru and Fukawa bump into eachother at the library.


The library at Hope's Peak is a rather large one, in fact, it sits on the edge of the school so that it can act as a public library of sorts. Now, of course, a section is made private for the special Ultimates who go to school there. In this library, they can study and raise their talents even further.

One of those students is the Ultimate Moral Compass, Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

Despite not actually having to know anything for general classes, as a part of his talent, Ishimaru must study as much as possible. He ends up going to the library quite a lot.

One day, he was sifting through the books. He was looking for an old one, _General Education on the Subject of English_. It was quite the mouthful. Frustrated at the fact that he found nothing, he left that section and paced back and forth between the aisles.

Coincidentally, another person was left frustrated and also running between the aisles. That person was the Ultimate Novelist, Touko Fukawa. They rammed each other head-on, causing the other party to fall onto their rear.

"What the hell what that for?!"

Ishimaru stood up swiftly and sternly.

"I apologize for bumping into you! And Fukawa-kun, you should not say words like 'hell' here. This is a library."

"You shouldn't be talking then.", she spat.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

They both stared at each other for a second, wanting to continue the rather awkward conversation, but also not wanting to disrupt the peace and silence of the library. Ishimaru settled on a whisper.

"Do you need help finding anything?"

"Well, I was looking for a particular novel. It was originally in English, so I came looking for it over here."

"How perfect! I was looking for a guide on that language, anyways."

People around the room looked at them angrily.

"Shh!"

"Sorry."

Fukawa shambed a whisper into a coherent sentence.

"We should just go to the Hope's Peak section. Maybe they have it there."

They went to the Hope's Peak private section of the library and neither of them found the books that they were looking for. They slumped down at a table, the depression finally hitting them.

"We could not find them…"

"Nope. I'm even surprised you didn't ditch me, considering the stench I give off."

"Fukawa-kun! I would never abandon a student who's willing to go to the library to learn! In fact, it's a trait I highly admire."

Fukawa was stunned. Her face flushed a bright pink, giving the conversation unnecessary undertones. She poked her index fingers together.

"Ad-Ad-Admire? I only want Byakuya-sama to see me that way! I don't care about you at all!"

Ishimaru was slightly offended, but remembered that this is Fukawa he's talking to, and ended up having to sigh. He knew that he was bad at picking up social cues, but after being with Fukawa for a while, he knew that this was her token of thanks.

After all, if she really didn't like him, she wouldn't be smiling this much.

"What's with that dumb smirk on your face!"

"Hm?"

Ishimaru was brought out of his thoughts. He had to make an excuse, but he couldn't lie. Lying just isn't right. Well, he could bend the truth a bit.

"I was thinking about everything you have done."

"And…What does that mean?"

"Like your dedication to writing. I assume you must have some innate talent."

Fukawa didn't like that comment.

"And what would you know?! Just because you're good at studying doesn't mean that you actually had to put any effort into it!"

Ishimaru was pushed in the wrong way by her reply. No. He started this with a lie. This is what he gets.

Wait a second.

"Did something bad happen to you to make you feel that way?"

Fukawa started right back, off-put by this sudden remark.

"Well…I…" She pouted. "It's a long story."

Ishimaru finally began to relax for the first time in his entire day.

"I know how that feels."

Just as he was about to continue, something within himself stopped the words from escaping his lips, and his whole body tightened up again.

"We should read something! Learning is always a virtue!"

"How 'bout no." Ishimaru sunk in his chair. Fukawa rose. "Actually, I have an idea. You do good with grammar, right?"

"I do _well_ with grammar. Although, I would like to think that I also do justice by fixing any issues."

"That's exactly my point right there." She took a deep breath inwards, as if she was preparing herself mentally for something. "Can you edit my novel?"

Ishimaru paused.

"Hm?"

She exhaled, looking downwards.

"That's alright if you don't want to. I mean it's only a rough draft, and with this stench of mine, I don't blame you. It's just that my usual editor is getting on my nerves. He's just so uptight and pervy, it creeps me out."

"If he is being like that that, then of course I can help you."

"Really?" She looked away as to not seem excited. "…Thanks."

"If it is to maintain your hard work and effort, I will do all I can to support my fellow students!"

"Okay, you can stop now."

She dug through her bag to retrieve some item. She pulled out her phone and tapped on some things.

"There. I sent it to you."

"On what?"

"Your e-mail."

It clicked for Ishimaru.

"Oh! The one Fujisaki-kun made for me. That must be how you got it."

"Does it _matter_ how I got it?!"

"I guess not."

"I will do my best to read and edit your work!" Ishimaru stood up and bowed. "Fukawa-kun, it has been an honor."

Fukawa began to bite her nails.

"Don't be so formal. I'm making you do work. Just leave already."

"Goodbye."

He walked away sternly.

Fukawa put a hand to her face and sighed. Does he always have to be this rigid?

…

Fukawa was making her daily trip to the library when she noticed someone hard at work transitioning from scribbling something onto a notepad and staring intensely at the library's computer screen.

She knew immediately who it was.

"Ishimaru?"

He didn't respond.

"Ishimaru?"

Nothing.

"Ishimaru!"

He turned around right away and stood up with a salute. If it weren't the private section of the library, he probably would have given her a lecture, as ironic as that seems.

"Yes? Fukawa-kun?"

She peered over his shoulder.

"Why are reading it on a computer here? Don't you have one at home?"

Ishimaru looked down, with disdain.

"Sadly, I do not." His determination was not diminished yet. "Despite the circumstances, I have a detailed report of typos and possible edits. I have included a word number so that you can tell where the edit should take place."

He held out the notebook he was writing on and she took it, opening it up to view its contents. Meticulously written in clean, legible handwriting was a complete journal of grammatical errors and other various issues, such as plot holes and underdeveloped parts of each section. At the end of each new issue, there was an explanation as to why he thought that should be changed.

"Unfortunately, I have not finished the draft yet, so this is up until the last couple of chapt—Fukawa-kun? Are you ill?"

"Hm? No. I'm fine."

"Your face is sickly red. I will take you to the infirmary if you are are not feeling well."

"I-I'm fine! Okay! Shut up!"

They stared at each other for a minute before deciding that it was too awkward and Fukawa snapped around and started walking away.

"Give me the edits when you're done, alright?"

…

Fukawa shambled around her small apartment half asleep. She had been writing and passed out in her school clothing. She had to get up because someone had knocked on her door. It was rather late, but not too late. There was still an hour before curfew. None of her parents were home. They never really cared about her, anyways.

She peeked through the eyehole to see who it was. Large droplets of tears running down his face and clutching a large notebook across his chest was Ishimaru.

She opened up the door.

"Ishimaru! What are you doing here?"

"Y-You…You told me to b-b…bring you…t-the draft when it was done."

She pulled him into the apartment and sat him down on the sofa. He was crying and trying to wipe the tears away, but utterly failing at that task.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Your story…" He looked up at her with a puppies eyes. "It's a masterpiece!"

"Huh?"

"The relationship between Kuro and his father was…" He took a second to wipe the sheer mass of salty water off of his face. "It was so heartbreaking! How they finally reconciled for their differences! You truly are the Ultimate Novelist!"

She looked away for a second. No one who had read her works had complimented her like this. Then again, no one had ever arrived at her house this late covered in tears.

She looked back at the boy to her side and noticed that Ishimaru had fallen asleep. He was kinda cute. Not as cute as Byakuya-sama, though!

Okay, maybe he was.


End file.
